Friday, August 7, 2009

立秋(risshu):The first day of autumn

Today is risshu (立秋), the first day of autumn by the old calendar. Risshu is one of the nijyushisekki (二十四節気), the 24 solar terms. The last one was taisho (大暑) on July 23 and the next one is shosho (処暑)on Aug. 23.
Though it is autumn in the old calender, in reality the heat will increase from now. However our greeting is changed between before and after risshu. Before risshu we say shochu omimai moushi agemasu(暑中お見舞い申し上げます), but after risshu we say zansho omimai moushi agemasu(残暑お見舞い申し上げます), meaning I hope you are doing fine in spite of this lingering summer heat. Zansho (残暑: literally remain heat) means the late summer heat.

2 comments:

  1. Sugehh!! I've looked everywhere and finally I know the meaning of this phrase from your blog ^^ Arigatou gozaimashita!!

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  2. Hello.
    Thank you for your comment.
    I am sorry I have not noticed it by now.
    I am glad to hear that you knew the meaning of the phrase from my blog.

    You're welcome.

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